2022 SEC Championships: Star-Studded Men’s 500 Free Lined Up
The men’s 500 freestyle will be the premier event of Day 2 of the 2022 SEC Championships. It could be the pick of the litter of the entire meet if not the weekend of conference championships.
Prelims was a feeling-out process that didn’t quite deliver. But the finals sets up nicely Wednesday night, with the NCAA record-holder, the reigning NCAA champion and a freshman phenom with a world junior record all assembled to take aim at the title.
All the action from a busy morning session is below …
2022 SEC Championships Links
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- Day 1 Results
- 2022 SEC Championships Day 1: Alabama Women, Florida Men Set Relay Marks
Women’s team standings
(Through Event 5) 1. Texas A&M University 155 2. Louisiana State University 150 3. Kentucky, University of 148 4. University of Tennessee 145 5. South Carolina, University of, 139 5. Georgia, University of 139 7. University of Florida 130 8. University of Alabama 114 9. Auburn University 107 10. Missouri 97 11. University of Arkansas 78 12. Vanderbilt University 60
Men’s team standings
(Through Event 6) 1. Texas A&M University 156 2. University of Tennessee 155 3. Kentucky, University of 153 4. Louisiana State University 139 5. Universityof Alabama 137 6. University of Florida 133 7. Missouri 122 8. Georgia, University of 114 9. South Carolina, University of, 105 10. Auburn University 90
Day 2 Ups/Mids/Downs
Men’s
- Texas A&M 2-0-1
- Tennessee 1-3-4
- Kentucky 1-3-1
- LSU 1-1-0
- Alabama 2-4-2
- Florida 8-4-4
- Missouri 1-2-3
- Georgia 5-1-2
- South Carolina 0-1-5
- Auburn 3-4-2
Note: A swim-off for the 24th finalist in the men’s 50 free is pending, though it’s between two South Carolina swimmers.
Women’s
- Texas A&M 0-3-0
- LSU 0-1-1
- Kentucky 2-3-3
- Tennessee 8-4-1
- South Carolina 0-0-2
- Georgia 4-6-1
- Florida 2-2-5
- Alabama 5-3-1
- Auburn 0-2-5
- Missouri 2-0-2
- Arkansas 1-0-3
- Vanderbilt 0-0-0
Women’s 500 freestyle
The home waters are friendly to Tennessee, which grabbed the top two seeds. Julie Mrozinski is the top seed in tonight’s final with 4:39.18, with teammate Kristen Stege second in 4:39.79. Aly Breslin is also in the A final in sixth. Kensey McMahon of Alabama grabbed the third spot, joining two from Georgia and two from Florida in the championship final.
One surprise came from Texas A&’s Chloe Stepanek, albeit in not her strongest event. She was nearly two seconds slower than her seed time in 4:45.30 to finish 15th.
Event 9 Women 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
NCAA: N 4:24.06 3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
SEC: S 4:32.53 3/21/2014 Brittany MacLean, Georgia
SEC Meet: M 4:33.10 2/17/2016 Brittany MacLean, Georgia
Pool: P 4:33.09 11/19/2020Paige Madden, Virginia
4:35.76 A
4:47.20 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Mrozinski, Juli FR Tennessee-SE 4:38.82 4:39.18 qB
r:+0.63 24.98 52.58 (27.60)
1:20.60 (28.02) 1:48.84 (28.24)
2:17.14 (28.30) 2:45.60 (28.46)
3:14.24 (28.64) 3:42.89 (28.65)
4:11.46 (28.57) 4:39.18 (27.72)
2 Stege, Kristen JR Tennessee-SE 4:40.62 4:39.79 qB
r:+0.74 25.41 52.64 (27.23)
1:20.80 (28.16) 1:49.12 (28.32)
2:17.35 (28.23) 2:45.90 (28.55)
3:14.68 (28.78) 3:43.52 (28.84)
4:12.02 (28.50) 4:39.79 (27.77)
3 McMahon, Kensey SR Alabama-SE 4:38.76 4:40.22 qB
r:+0.72 26.06 53.96 (27.90)
1:21.93 (27.97) 1:50.26 (28.33)
2:18.72 (28.46) 2:46.95 (28.23)
3:15.37 (28.42) 3:44.08 (28.71)
4:12.63 (28.55) 4:40.22 (27.59)
4 Mathieu, Tylor JR Florida-FL 4:39.98 4:40.95 qB
r:+0.77 26.18 54.69 (28.51)
1:23.09 (28.40) 1:51.41 (28.32)
2:19.91 (28.50) 2:48.65 (28.74)
3:17.13 (28.48) 3:45.40 (28.27)
4:13.42 (28.02) 4:40.95 (27.53)
5 McCulloh, Abiga FR Georgia-GA 4:39.17 4:41.22 qB
r:+0.70 26.23 54.30 (28.07)
1:22.69 (28.39) 1:51.24 (28.55)
2:19.76 (28.52) 2:48.13 (28.37)
3:16.52 (28.39) 3:45.14 (28.62)
4:13.60 (28.46) 4:41.22 (27.62)
6 Breslin, Aly M SO Tennessee-SE 4:42.91 4:42.02 qB
r:+0.75 26.16 53.91 (27.75)
1:22.37 (28.46) 1:51.18 (28.81)
2:19.92 (28.74) 2:48.58 (28.66)
3:17.27 (28.69) 3:45.90 (28.63)
4:14.24 (28.34) 4:42.02 (27.78)
7 Bauer, Elise C SO Florida-FL 4:41.10 4:42.22 qB
r:+0.69 26.05 54.21 (28.16)
1:22.59 (28.38) 1:50.96 (28.37)
2:19.64 (28.68) 2:48.34 (28.70)
3:17.15 (28.81) 3:45.93 (28.78)
4:14.60 (28.67) 4:42.22 (27.62)
8 Coetzee, Dune FR Georgia-GA 4:42.04 4:42.80 qB
r:+0.75 25.91 53.75 (27.84)
1:22.15 (28.40) 1:50.46 (28.31)
2:18.96 (28.50) 2:47.65 (28.69)
3:16.32 (28.67) 3:45.17 (28.85)
4:14.36 (29.19) 4:42.80 (28.44)
Men’s 500 freestyle
The top seed in finals is from Florida, but it’s not the Florida swimmer you’re expecting.
Alfonso Mestre led five Gators into the A final and six in the top nine spots with a 4:13.56. The top three swimmers are clustered within a tenth, with Mestre’s teammate Trey Freeman second. (Remember, this is without Bobby Finke at the meet).
Stalking the field is Kieran Smith, the NCAA record holder who went 4:14.51 to coast into the A final. It was a slightly tighter scrape for Jake Magahey, Georgia’s reigning NCAA champ, who went 4:15.16 to finish seventh. He was into the A final by a clear second. And then there’s Matt Sates, off a stellar split in Tuesday’s 800 free relay, who dropped 18 seconds off a non-representative seed time to go 4:13.65. He’s the third seed.
Event 10 Men 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
NCAA: N 4:06.32 2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
SEC: S 4:06.32 2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
SEC Meet: M 4:06.32 2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
Pool: P 4:11.07 2/15/2017 Fynn Minuth, South Carolina
4:11.62 A
4:23.34 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Mestre, Alfonso JR Florida-FL 4:11.26 4:13.56 qB
r:+0.73 22.94 48.24 (25.30)
1:13.78 (25.54) 1:39.75 (25.97)
2:05.01 (25.26) 2:30.86 (25.85)
2:56.66 (25.80) 3:22.91 (26.25)
3:48.69 (25.78) 4:13.56 (24.87)
2 Freeman, Trey P JR Florida-FL 4:13.87 4:13.63 qB
r:+0.65 23.09 48.46 (25.37)
1:14.28 (25.82) 1:40.19 (25.91)
2:06.28 (26.09) 2:32.21 (25.93)
2:57.76 (25.55) 3:23.50 (25.74)
3:49.02 (25.52) 4:13.63 (24.61)
3 Sates, Matthew FR Georgia-GA 4:31.29 4:13.65 qB
r:+0.65 22.10 47.37 (25.27)
1:13.26 (25.89) 1:39.67 (26.41)
2:06.12 (26.45) 2:32.61 (26.49)
2:58.50 (25.89) 3:23.56 (25.06)
3:48.76 (25.20) 4:13.65 (24.89)
4 Bonson, Michael SO Auburn-SE 4:18.34 4:13.89 qB
r:+0.74 23.03 48.52 (25.49)
1:14.58 (26.06) 1:40.63 (26.05)
2:06.39 (25.76) 2:31.73 (25.34)
2:57.29 (25.56) 3:23.08 (25.79)
3:49.04 (25.96) 4:13.89 (24.85)
5 Smith, Kieran S SR Florida-FL 4:10.72 4:14.51 qB
r:+0.68 23.20 48.88 (25.68)
1:14.82 (25.94) 1:40.75 (25.93)
2:06.67 (25.92) 2:32.60 (25.93)
2:58.22 (25.62) 3:23.88 (25.66)
3:49.39 (25.51) 4:14.51 (25.12)
6 Watson, Tyler J JR Florida-FL 4:20.95 4:14.96 qB
r:+0.74 23.41 48.52 (25.11)
1:14.05 (25.53) 1:39.66 (25.61)
2:05.44 (25.78) 2:31.22 (25.78)
2:57.12 (25.90) 3:23.27 (26.15)
3:49.38 (26.11) 4:14.96 (25.58)
7 Magahey, Jake M SO Georgia-GA 4:16.95 4:15.16 qB
r:+0.70 23.46 49.30 (25.84)
1:15.57 (26.27) 1:41.60 (26.03)
2:07.46 (25.86) 2:33.39 (25.93)
2:59.14 (25.75) 3:24.85 (25.71)
3:50.48 (25.63) 4:15.16 (24.68)
8 Lindholm, Oskar FR Florida-FL 4:17.54 4:15.93 qB
r:+0.75 23.21 48.84 (25.63)
1:14.97 (26.13) 1:41.04 (26.07)
2:07.12 (26.08) 2:33.23 (26.11)
2:59.19 (25.96) 3:24.88 (25.69)
3:50.51 (25.63) 4:15.93 (25.42)
Women’s 200 IM
It’s three to the A final again for the Volunteers, led by Ellen Walshe. The favorite entering the event grabbed the top time in 1:55.02, two tenths ahead of Georgia’s Zoie Hartman. Sara Stolter and Alexis Yager made it three Tennessee swimmers in the A final, in fourth and sixth, respectively. Kentucky slid two swimmers into the A final.
Event 11 Women 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
NCAA: N 1:50.67 3/15/2018 Ella Easton, Stanford
SEC: S 1:51.62 2/20/2019 Meghan Small, Tennessee
SEC Meet: M 1:51.62 2/20/2019 Meghan Small, Tennessee
Pool: P 1:50.92 11/19/2020Kate Douglass, Virginia
1:53.66 A
1:59.94 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Walshe, Ellen R FR Tennessee-SE 1:54.77 1:55.02 qB
r:+0.56 25.07 53.85 (28.78)
1:27.34 (33.49) 1:55.02 (27.68)
2 Hartman, Zoie E JR Georgia-GA 1:55.20 1:55.22 qB
r:+0.73 25.69 53.82 (28.13)
1:27.49 (33.67) 1:55.22 (27.73)
3 Petkova, Diana SO Alabama-SE 1:58.40 1:56.15 qB
r:+0.73 25.25 53.98 (28.73)
1:27.35 (33.37) 1:56.15 (28.80)
4 Stotler, Sara B FR Tennessee-SE 1:57.27 1:56.36 qB
r:+0.68 24.61 54.08 (29.47)
1:28.53 (34.45) 1:56.36 (27.83)
5 Wright, Cat G SR Alabama-SE 1:58.64 1:56.54 qB
r:+0.67 25.33 55.43 (30.10)
1:28.25 (32.82) 1:56.54 (28.29)
6 Yager, Alexis A SR Tennessee-SE 1:56.38 1:57.08 qB
r:+0.66 25.60 55.29 (29.69)
1:28.56 (33.27) 1:57.08 (28.52)
7 Sorenson, Sophi SR Kentucky-KY 1:57.77 1:57.15 qB
r:+0.73 25.12 53.27 (28.15)
1:28.49 (35.22) 1:57.15 (28.66)
8 Davey, Gillian JR Kentucky-KY 1:57.31 1:57.19 qB
r:+0.72 25.77 55.72 (29.95)
1:28.34 (32.62) 1:57.19 (28.85)
Men’s 200 IM
Georgia has two big cards to play on Tuesday, and with Luca Urlando in the 200 IM (likely his third-fastest event), the Bulldogs have the luxury not to use Sates in this event, despite him holding the World Junior short-course record in the event.
Both guys made that decision look good. First Sates with this 500 swim, the Urlando going 1:42.75 in the IM to take the top seed by three tenths over Kentucky’s Mason Wilby. Georgia also got Zach Hils into the A final in sixth. Texas A&M and Alabama pushed two swimmers each into the A final.
Event 12 Men 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
NCAA: N 1:38.13 2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
SEC: S 1:38.13 2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
SEC Meet: M 1:38.13 2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Pool: P 1:41.28 2/15/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
1:41.34 A
1:46.77 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Urlando, Luca R SO Georgia-GA 1:45.12 1:42.75 qB
r:+0.67 21.81 47.50 (25.69)
1:16.93 (29.43) 1:42.75 (25.82)
2 Wilby, Mason J SR Kentucky-KY 1:44.73 1:43.05 qB
r:+0.62 22.11 47.87 (25.76)
1:18.29 (30.42) 1:43.05 (24.76)
3 Erzen, Anze F JR Texas A&M-GU 1:44.42 1:43.29 qB
r:+0.65 22.54 47.90 (25.36)
1:17.46 (29.56) 1:43.29 (25.83)
4 Kovac, Danny D SR Missouri-MV 1:42.39 1:43.38 qB
r:+0.60 21.95 47.94 (25.99)
1:17.91 (29.97) 1:43.38 (25.47)
5 Bratanov, Kaloy SR Texas A&M-GU 1:43.46 1:43.47 qB
r:+0.60 22.89 48.98 (26.09)
1:18.77 (29.79) 1:43.47 (24.70)
6 Hils, Zach C JR Georgia-GA 1:44.52 1:43.50 qB
r:+0.67 22.26 47.76 (25.50)
1:17.81 (30.05) 1:43.50 (25.69)
7 Maas, Derek E JR Alabama-SE 1:43.12 1:43.54 qB
r:+0.70 22.10 48.14 (26.04)
1:18.02 (29.88) 1:43.54 (25.52)
8 Menke, Matthew JR Alabama-SE 1:44.42 1:43.82 qB
r:+0.63 22.27 47.14 (24.87)
1:17.98 (30.84) 1:43.82 (25.84)
Women’s 50 freestyle
Alabama has the top seed in finals, but it still represents a missed opportunity for the Crimson Tide. The top seed entering prelims, ‘Bama’s Kalia Antoniou, settled for ninth-fastest in prelims in 22.15, .36 slower than her seed. It’s part of four ‘Bama swimmers in the top 11. That includes the top seed: Morgan Scott, who entered as the second seed, posted the fastest time of prelims at 21.78 to lead the pack.
Tennessee, with second seed AJ Kutsch, and Missouri, with Sarah Thomas and Megan Keil, added two A finalists each.
Event 13 Women 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
NCAA: N 20.90 12/5/2019 Abby Weitzeil, California
SEC: S 21.03 2/19/2020 Erika Brown, Tennessee
SEC Meet: M 21.15 2/20/2019 Erika Brown, Tennessee
Pool: P 21.19 11/21/2019Erika Brown, Tennessee
21.66 A
22.76 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Scott, Morgan E SR Alabama-SE 21.80 21.78 qB
r:+0.62 10.59 21.78 (11.19)
2 Kutsch, AJ E JR Tennessee-SE 21.89 21.88 qB
r:+0.68 10.59 21.88 (11.29)
3 Thompson, Sarah SR Missouri-MV 21.81 21.92 qB
r:+0.63 10.50 21.92 (11.42)
4 Keil, Megan K SR Missouri-MV 21.94 21.97 qB
r:+0.63 10.67 21.97 (11.30)
5 Barclay, Emily SR Arkansas-AR 22.43 22.02 qB
r:+0.65 10.63 22.02 (11.39)
6 Rumley, Jasmine SO Tennessee-SE 22.15 22.07 qB
r:+0.60 10.70 22.07 (11.37)
7 Dupre, Cora A JR Alabama-SE 23.31 22.11 qB
r:+0.60 10.78 22.11 (11.33)
8 Parker, Maxine SO Georgia-GA 22.42 22.14 qB
r:+0.72 10.82 22.14 (11.32)
Men’s 50 freestyle
Some early morning speed included a pair of 18-second 50s and a sub-19.50 requirement for the A final.
Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks set the pace in 18.84 to grab the top seed, dropping more than a half second. Second is Olympian Brooks Curry in 18.93, while Florida’s Adam Chaney is lurking in third. With Alberto Mestre cracking 20 seconds in a huge time drop, the Gators have three A finalists.
Event 14 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
NCAA: N 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
SEC: S 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
SEC Meet: M 18.23 2/17/2016 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Pool: P 18.46 2/15/2017 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
18.96 A
19.96 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Crooks, Jordan FR Tennessee-SE 19.39 18.84 qA
r:+0.55 9.05 18.84 (9.79)
2 Curry, Brooks V JR LSU-LA 19.09 18.93 qA
r:+0.60 9.08 18.93 (9.85)
3 Chaney, Adam C SO Florida-FL 19.18 19.11 qB
r:+0.63 9.20 19.11 (9.91)
4 Downing, Dillon JR Georgia-GA 19.18 19.14 qB
r:+0.66 9.19 19.14 (9.95)
5 McDuff, Macguir FR Florida-FL 19.80 19.31 qB
r:+0.64 9.33 19.31 (9.98)
6 Tirheimer, Loga SO Auburn-SE 19.79 19.37 qB
r:+0.65 9.38 19.37 (9.99)
7 Yish, Matthew C SR Auburn-SE 19.97 19.38 qB
r:+0.62 9.24 19.38 (10.14)
8 Mestre, Alberto JR Florida-FL 20.08 19.43 qB
r:+0.68 9.42 19.43 (10.01)
